John Calvin Commentary Galatians 4:17

"They zealously seek you in no good way; nay, they desire to shut you out, that ye may seek them." — Galatians 4:17 (ASV)

They are jealous of you. He finally comes to the false apostles and does more by silence to make them detestable than if he had stated their names, for we usually abstain from naming those whose very names produce dislike and aversion in us. He mentions the immoderate ambition of these men and warns the Galatians not to be led astray by their appearance of zeal. The comparison is borrowed from honorable love, contrasted with those professions of regard that arise from unhallowed desires. This jealousy from the false apostles should not deceive them, for it did not proceed from right zeal but from an improper desire to gain reputation—a desire very different from the holy jealousy of which Paul speaks to the Corinthians.

For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy; for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2–3).

To expose their deceitful tactics even more fully, he corrects his language: Yea, they would exclude you. They not only endeavor to gain your affections, but, since they cannot gain possession of you by any other means, they endeavor to kindle strife between us. When you have been left, as it were, destitute, they expect that you will yield to them, for they perceive that as long as religious harmony is maintained between us, they can have no influence.

This tactic is frequently used by all the ministers of Satan. By causing the people to dislike their pastor, they then hope to draw them to themselves; and, after disposing of the rival, to obtain undisputed control. A careful and discerning examination of their conduct will reveal that they always begin in this way.